


The End

by Claddaghgirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Attempt at Humor, But We Know It Won't, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Other, POV Dean Winchester, Please suggest other tags, Post Series, Schmoop, Wishful Thinking, but don't worry, death is not the end, how i want it to end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22088164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claddaghgirl/pseuds/Claddaghgirl
Summary: This is my ideal ending for the show.Death has never been the end for Sam and Dean Winchester and even though they're dead, like really dead this time, they still have a job to do. Dean isn't entirely sure he's up to the task but with his brother and his angel by his side, he's giving it a shot.Wherein our boys have afterlife family business meetings in random places and Cas is cute AF. (I suck at summaries!)Rated Teen for a couple of swears only.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	The End

**Author's Note:**

> I am super late arriving in the SPN family. I only started watching the show mid 2019 after being badgered into it by my sister. I was hooked from the first ep and consumed as many as I could, as quickly as I could. This show got me through one of the hardest years of my life and so I wanted to pay something back. Here's my contribution of how I would love the show to end, it isn't going to go this way, (I'm dreading the fact that it will probably be far more devastating and I'm not ready!) but that's why we have fan fic, right?  
> This thing is un-beta'd, any mistakes are them own.  
> Also, I'm in the UK and have only seen up to the end of season 13 so please forgive any inaccuracy/irrelevance. although I know vague spoilers for 14/15  
> This whole theory was born with the help of my baby sister and our late night SPN ramblings on FB messenger. She gave me the kick up the butt needed to post this, so thanks Lindsi. xx  
> Depending on how well this fic is received, I may have some more ideas floating around in my head for it, so it will be known as the Soul Trade Universe. I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Comments are love. Let me know your thoughts?

**The End**

(Soul Trade Universe)

Dean can’t really remember who or what they were fighting but it had been a bullet that got them in the end.  
Just one.   
A stray shot fired by an inexperienced kid, a wannabe hunter out to make a name for himself on a job that had quickly gone wrong thanks to his naïve interference.   
It hit Dean square in the chest, travelling straight through his heart and out the other side before it plummeted into Sam who had been standing behind him, protecting him at the rear.   
So many prophecies had predicted that one of the brothers would kill the other, so many biblical parallels drawn between them, that the famous Winchester’s really should have seen it coming. They hadn’t, but they were so ready to go that neither of the men had the energy left to be pissed about it.   
Dean figured that since Sammy only got hit because they’d been back to back in the first place then, technically, he had actually killed his brother. He was pretty sure, probably, that he could chalk it up to being his fault anyway. Maybe.   
Both Sam and Cas begged to differ and they reminded him of the fact every chance they got.

Going out in a blaze of glory together, just how they’d always wanted, hadn’t really been the end for them either (When had it ever been?) but they’d already figured that, too.   
  
What they didn’t count on was that Sammy would wake up in Hell with Rowena looking down on him and offering him the chance to rule at her side, while Dean came to in that damned white chair in Heaven with Cas lightly slapping his face and repeating his name over and over in that monotone voice of his, knowing full well that Dean was already conscious but seemingly enjoying the shit out of slapping him anyway. Finally the angel had stopped, realising he had been caught, and just smiled impishly at him. “Hello Dean.”  
He hadn’t been pissed about dying for good this time, but he had been furious that his not-so-little brother wasn’t by his side in heaven to spend eternity with him. At least until they had their first meeting since the bullet separated them and Dean realised that they’d both been put in charge of their respective realms. Between them they kept the angels and demons in line and Dean figured that maybe this was how they would really save the world. Huh.

  
~oOo~

  
They got together once a month to trade the souls of those who had wrongfully been sent Upstairs or Downstairs, after all, the whole system was still screwed but they were working on it. Slowly but surely. They talked about how things were going and took it in turns to choose their meeting place.   
Sam generally had them meet in libraries or vegan cafes, but every now and again he chose completely random (and totally nerdy) places like that one time he’d picked some newly discovered pharaoh's burial chamber in the heart of an Egyptian pyramid just so he could study the hieroglyphics in person when they were done with their meeting. Dean had to smite three rats when he grew tired of kicking them away after they repeatedly nibbled on his boot laces.  
Cas always picked a botanical garden or a wildflower meadow just so he could spend time with the bees while the brothers talked shop. He often wandered off for long periods of time, though, and more than once they’d found him balancing in a tree with a dove perched on one of his shoulders and a squirrel sitting in his lap, deep in conversation with the two creatures. The first time it had happened Dean watched the angel swinging his legs back and forth, making a few leaves rain down, and Cas simply smiled at him as if talking to a couple of animals was a perfectly normal way to pass the time.  
Rowena? Well, they were just shocked if she showed up.

Dean’s choice of meeting place, however predictable, was his favourite roadside diner (or very occasionally a strip club. Not because he wanted to get lucky or anything, not since he and Cas made it official anyway, but just because he likes to see the angel squirm now and again.)  
  
This month it happened to be Dean’s turn to pick so they’re sitting in their usual booth in the window of a small 24 hour diner in Sioux Falls.  
It’s pretty late but every table is occupied and the whole place is alive with the sound of families and friends and truckers all chatting to one another.   
Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ is blasting from a digital radio perched in the serving hatch between the kitchen and the main counter so Dean subtlety snaps his fingers and the station changes to 80’s Rock. The chorus of Asia’s ‘Heat Of The Moment’ kicks in and Sam shakes his head quickly with an enthusiastic “Nope!” before clicking his own fingers and bringing Taylor swiftly back.  
The fry cook doesn’t so much as miss a beat and carries on bopping his head and singing into a spatula with great enthusiasm as he casually flips a few burgers on the hot plate.  
  
Dean orders every item on the diner’s menu (He calls it The Winchester Special) and chomps his way through it all with glee while Sam bitches at him because technically Dean doesn’t need to eat anymore so what’s the point? Cas just looks at his boyfriend wistfully and explains he does it because he misses the taste, and it’s not like the cholesterol is going to matter now is it?  
  
A couple of hours later, when he’s had his fill, Dean leans back in his chair, a stained napkin tucked in his collar and a smear of hot sauce on his chin. Dead or not, he will never get tired of food! He enthusiastically proclaims that, one day, he’s going to enter an eating contest because he knows he would win, hands down. Sam points out he would have an unfair advantage over any other contestants and that would be a bit of a dick move.  
Cas leans over and swipes the sauce from Dean’s chin and licks his finger. Sam says ”Let me guess, it tastes like molecules?” But Cas smiles and says no, it tastes like Dean.   
Dean beams at him while Sam just snorts and tells them they’re disgusting. Dean and Cas continue to smile widely at each other but the moment is broken when Dean suddenly erupts with a huge belch which is appreciated by the passing waitress, if the amused look she gives him is anything to go by. He holds his fist proudly in the air and she bumps her own against it in acknowledgment. Sam shakes his head and calls him an animal but Dean is unperturbed. “Sherri digs me.” he says with a smile and winks at the waitress as she begins to clear the mountain of empty plates he’s created on their table.  
Cas laughs softly at his boyfriend’s antics and offers up his own thoughts on the matter. Contrary to what Sam might think, he believes that quite the opposite is true. He thinks it’s a good thing Dean is still perfectly in tune with his human side and is in fact the first ever CEO of Heaven who actually shows compassion to the souls in his care, his only motivation being bringing peace to them rather than using them to further his own agenda, unlike so many who have held the position before him. The fact that Cas includes himself in that description isn’t lost on any of them.  
Dean blushes a little under the praise and leans over, grabbing Cas by the back of his neck to bring him closer, then plants a heartfelt peck on the angel’s lips before pulling back slowly, just as Sherri returns for what’s left of Dean’s culinary carnage.  
She coos at them both and tells them it’s sweet to see how they can’t keep their eyes or hands off each other. It reminds her of the way her husband looks at her when he’s lucky enough to return from his deployment in Iraq.   
Sam needs to get back to work, there’s a Crossroads Demon in Atlanta, making deals with sick kids, who needs to be taken down a peg or two so he waves at Sherri to let her know they’re ready to go. The poor woman is a little frazzled because she is pulling a double shift thanks to a colleague calling in sick. She’s exhausted but they’re short staffed and she can’t afford to turn the money down right now.  
When she eventually returns with their check (a good ten minutes later) and looking even more rumpled, Sam makes sure to leave her a big tip before they make their way to the door.  
Sherri gives them a wave and tells them to come back real soon. Cas offers her a quiet thanks of his own as he passes her and lays a hand on her shoulder momentarily. He lets a little of his grace seep out and soothes her tired bones, leaving her behind with a fond smile. The little bell above the door jingles merrily as it closes behind the three men.

They walk out to the parking lot where Baby is waiting in the blinking glow of the old rotating neon sign above the diner. Unbeknown to any other angels, Dean has made his beloved Impala the gateway to heaven, because this way he can control who waltzes in and out of the damn place, but mostly it’s because he thinks that whole sandpit in the kid’s playground setup was bullshit. It made him feel like a total creeper every time he had to use it.   
He passes what he knows to be the waitress’s car and spots a child’s safety seat in the back. It’s 11.30 at night and damn if that doesn’t pull on his heart strings some. It’s not fair that Sherri is here at the diner, busting her ass to make ends meet, when she could be home with her kid instead.   
The ugly green excuse for a ride is one hell of a rust bucket with a busted wing mirror and more than a few dents and scrapes on it. It offends his eyes to even look at the thing! He shudders and looks away and that’s when he spots a small puddle of fuel slowly blooming on the ground beside the rear tires. He moves closer and gently taps his knuckles just once on the trunk. Instantly the car is brand new again with no sign of it’s previous damage and now with a full tank of gas. It’s still pretty grotesque but at least it should safely carry Sherri and her kid around for a few more thousand miles. It’s the least he can do.   
He pauses.   
There is one more thing, he thinks, and taps the car again, smiling to himself.   
He shoves his hands in his pockets as he makes his way back over to Sam and Cas who are waiting for him beside Baby just as Sam pulls out their Dad’s old journal from inside his jacket, his own portable portal. No matter how many times Sam tries to convince him, there is no way in Heaven he will refer to it as a friggin Portkey. Sam clasps the leather bound file tightly against his side as Dean bro-hugs him with one hand and slaps his brother on the shoulder a couple of times in a farewell gesture before they pull apart.   
The Sasquatch opens the journal and vanishes in less than a blink of an eye.

~oOo~

Sherri pokes two fingers between the plastic strips of the blinds hanging in the window at the diner door, separating them in order to get a better view of the dimly lit parking lot.  
The blinds themselves are a little greasy from the fried food vapours floating around the diner and what little amount of dust escapes her otherwise rigorous cleaning routine clings to the grease and gathers in little fluffy clumps underneath the pads of her fingers as she watches the cute couple share another kiss before they separate to climb inside a sleek black car. The car vanishes in an instant, as though it was never there, leaving Sherri momentarily confused. She rubs at her eyes with her non-dusty hand, laughing at herself for hallucinating and vows to find the time to get some sleep as soon as possible.  
  
She finishes her shift at 4am and can’t help thinking about the men she met earlier. It brings a smile to her face and reminds her of her husband all over again. Maybe they will get lucky and manage to squeeze in some FaceTime soon. Suddenly she has a new spring in her step. It sure is funny how love can give you a second wind when you should be dead-on-your-feet exhausted.   
  
It’s a full four days and too many hours working at the diner while missing tiny milestones of her kid’s life before she finds the winning lottery ticket hidden in the glove compartment of her car.

~oOo~

The next time Team Free Will meet at the diner there’s a brand new neon sign slowly rotating above the parking lot. “Sherri’s Place” is reflected brightly in Baby’s windshield and Dean’s sure his heart just grew three sizes.   
Sam is already camped out in their usual booth and as Dean and Cas head towards him, Dean spots the woman, herself, seated one table over. She looks well rested and her attention is completely captivated by her husband as he bounces their giggling little boy on his knee beside her.

Dean’s gaze lingers a little, smiling softly to himself. This afterlife shit ain’t so bad.

  
  



End file.
